[Jeroen]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

I get the impression that... nobody does machining sitting down?

That was my thought as well. Don’t know why, but that is just the image I have.
So I googled it, and came up with this machinist forum where this very question got asked:

https://bbs.homeshopmachinist.net/fo...own#post789904

Reading through this thread it appears that these days sitting down is the new normal for machinist! Everybody does it.

I will be honest. When I am using my lath and or mill I constantly change position to get the best view of what I am doing. As I am working on (very) small pieces as well, it is not as if can put a feed on and just watch it do its thing for several minutes.

So it is probably a combination of some practical factors and routine. In the little machine shop down the road from us, I have yet to see a workshop stool! All the machinist are my age, if not older and they stand the whole day!

Jeroen

[Sutripta]

I would say that if the tool + stock is within shoulder width, you can work sitting down. eg watchmakers lathe.

In some jobs one has to shift weight, or take a proper stance. Like sawing, filing. So one stands.

Captain on the bridge (seagoing surface ship, not aircraft/ Enterprise) - sit or stand?

Sutripta

[Jeroen]

Originally Posted by Sutripta

Captain on the bridge (seagoing surface ship, not aircraft/ Enterprise) - sit or stand?

In my days they made you stand. Although on AHTs we had chairs on the bridge. Especially during anchor handling the captain and one of the engineer would sit side by side, overlooking the deck in very comfortable chairs.

Part of the rationale behind “standing watch” was that you could not fall asleep. But that is actually not true. If tired enough, you can stand sleeping up, propped up against a door or so.

Today my old neighbour Toon came around. Toon and his very nice 1983 Mercedes 123 280 Coupe has featured in this before. We used to do some spannering and visit car events together. We moved three years ago, but we have stayed in touch. It was also Toon who lend me a helping hand a couple of years ago, working on the distribution chain on my W123.

His problem for today was the rear window on the driver side would not open properly, It is electric and somehow it got stuck half way down. If you would give it a little push, it would slide down all the way.



I looked in my W123 manuals how to get access to the mechanism. Our thought was it might just take a bit of cleaning and lubrication of the various parts, guides and runners.

Fairly straighforward. The complete rear seat has to come out:



Then some trim around the side



A few more pieces of trim removed and we could see the various runners, guides etc.



By moving the window up and down we could get half decent access to the mechanism.



We did not want to take the whole window and the winding mechanism out yet. That is a bigger job and also putting it back is a bit more tricky as you need to align everything with the drivers door. These Coupe don’t have a B pillar. So the front of this rear window has a seal against which the window from the door needs to seal. So correct allignement is pretty crucial.

So we cleaned and lubed it as best as we could:



But no succes, so we investigated some more. Our final conclusion is that the guide at the bottom of the window frame has worn down. We compared very carefully the play in various position of the left to the right hand rear window. There is significant play in the left one!

So we will need to replace it. Not sure if that part is still available. So we will do some online research and put some feelers out on the W123 forums to see if anybody has this particular part. If anything a used part might do. From what I could see, I might be able to reproduce it on my lathe.

So we ended up putting everything back together. We also had a go at fixing another piece of trim that had come loose. Next, we will be part hunting. To replace it we need to take the whole windows and winding mechanism out. At least we know how to get access to it. More to come.

Tomorrow a day touring with the Jaguar forum club. It looks like the weather is going to be nice. Some 30-35 X300/308/350 are likely to turn up! Looking forward to it!

Jeroen

[Sutripta]

Originally Posted by Jeroen

Part of the rationale behind “standing watch” was that you could not fall asleep.

You have not come across the one legged stool?

Same (older) logic for making locomotive drivers (engineers) and (Calcutta) tram operators stand also.

Sutripta

[Jeroen]

Today I was out touring with the Jaguar Forum Crowd. I have shown the garage G&G run by Raymond and his wife Joke before. They specialise in the maintenance of Jaguars. Mostly the models from sort of XJ till X350. Nothing much older or more modern.

They are one of the sponsor of this Dutch Jaguar forum. Every year they organise a tour around Zeeland. One of the provinces here in the Netherlands. What with Covid, just about all car related events have been cancelled. But if you organise it well, you can actually tour.

So I set off this morning around 08.30am. Met up with some 12 other guys and their Jaguars along the way. We arrived 10.15 at G&G



Covid regulations means everybody has to register his/her name on a self health declaration. Everybody needs to keep 1,5 m distance (unless from the same house hold). In all well over 30 Jaguars turned up. About 60 people including some children.

As always Raymond is talking very passionately about his Jaguars. He is in the process of restoring this XJS



I have shown his garage and workshop in some more detail in earlier post. Every year he organises a technical day as well. Where he as his staff demonstrate all kinds of maintenance jobs. I find his workshop absolutely fascinating! I have yet to come across a better equipped and or organised workshop than Raymond.

Different workstations for different jobs. Each with its own dedicated tools.





I have seen Raymond taking apart a complete Jaguar Autobox here several times in just a few hours.



Parts and more Parts. He stocks just about everything!



I mean, have you ever come across a workshop where every singel items in the shop is lined up and positioned down to the last millimetre?



Special tools, every kit labelled



At about 10.45 after some coffee and cookies we set off.

Almost immediately we can to a closed railroad crossing. Pretty cool one too as this is an old steam engine railroad that runs during the summer months!



IN this path of the Netherlands a lot of people still take their religion very serious, which also mean going to church twice on a Sunday. So a lot of people in their Sunday best out and about in the little villages we passed through



Here is another typical “Zeeland” scenario; A diver crossing the road!



Zeeland has some excellent diving locations and hundred of parks will be parked along the dikes and people changing into or getting out of their diving gear!

These sort of views are very typical for Zeeland





Finding a restaurant that will cater for a large group is near impossible during these covid times. Raymond had managed to secure the help of a lady who ran a local “friettent” as we call it. You can get french fries, burgers that sort of stuff. Very simple, very pleasant and you just eat it sitting down outside.



Raymond was putting his drone through its paces, so I dare say we will have little video soon to.



So a very simple, but very pleasant lunch stop. Dutch love eating friet (fries), the weather was gorgeous, and we got to talk about cars, admire each other cars!



After lunch we drove for another hour or so. We stopped for 15 minutes at this location overlooking the Westerschelde. A huge waterway which leads from the Northsea into Antwerp harbour.





Of course, this being the Netherlands, you need to share the road with a lot of bicycles!



All in all, a very pleasant and enjoyable day. My Jaguar ran great, did almost 400 km.

Jeroen

[sandeepmohan]

Originally Posted by Jeroen

Almost immediately we can to a closed railroad crossing. Pretty cool one too as this is an old steam engine railroad that runs during the summer months

What is this railroad called? Do they have a website?

[Jeroen]

Originally Posted by sandeepmohan

What is this railroad called? Do they have a website?

It is known as the SGB Stoomtrein Goes Borssele and has a very nice website, including English version:

https://www.destoomtrein.nl/?lang=en

I thought I was familiar with most steam trains in the Netherlands, but I wasn’t really aware of this one. From their website this looks as worth a visit.

There are quite a few of these steam train / trams all over the Netherlands.

Enjoy!

Jeroen

[Jeroen]

We have had some first responses to our post on the W123 Dutch forum, all in Dutch, but there are pictures too!

http://www.mbklassiekerclub.nl/gelei...cd38db8891f131

One of the members responded by pointing out another possible cause. Which I think could well be true. It’s basically one of the pivot points of the winding mechanism getting bend. I did look at this, and it did look a bit weird. But I do believe the worn guide is probably the root cause. Nobody has been able, yet, to come up with the part or part number.

I have two Mercedes Part DVDs, but they require a Windows laptop, with a DVD player. I have the Mac Super DVD drive. I used to be able to get that going on a Windows PC, but that is not working either. So looking for a different solution. I think it is very likely it is on one of these two DVDs. Once we have a part number searching for it becomes a lot easier.

As I mentioned before, not many car related events yet, and what had been postponed is still being cancelled. But I have just enrolled in a factory tour at the Donkervoort Factory here in the Netherlands! I am looking forward to it. I had the pleasure of being invited by Joop Donkervoort himself more than 25 years ago to participate in a factory tour. Then it was still in Loosdrecht adjacent to his home. nowadays they have their showroom, office and factory all in one big modern building. Very fancy!

I checked and I will be allowed to take photographs during most of the tour.!

A quote from the Donkervoort website:

During the Donkervoort Factory Tour we offer you an exclusive look behind the scenes. Experience a special afternoon at Donkervoort Automobielen and discover how one of the fastest sports cars in the world is built by hand! You will be guided by true Donkervoort insiders; you can hardly get any closer to the essence of our supercar construction!

Afternoon program
Donkervoort Factory Tours start at 10 a.m. in the showroom with a well-cared for, extensive coffee table, including tea and juices. At 10.30 am the welcome speech with the introduction and a short history of Donkervoort follows. The Factory Tour starts at 10.45 a.m.

The tour
During the tour through our factory we will take you through the entire production process of the D8 GTO-JD70, from start to finish. All specific aspects of the construction of this Donkervoort are addressed. You will see how the chassis is welded and then (very minimally) plated and you will visit the development and composite department, responsible for the manufacture of the lightest and strongest car parts in the world. At the assembly line we show you how a complete car is assembled to the wishes of the customer and ultimately prepared for delivery. An extra special experience, because the factory is normally not open to the public!

Afterwards
Around 12 a.m. you will arrive back in our showroom, where a snack and a drink will be waiting for you in between the cars. This is when there will also be an opportunity to talk with the Donkervoort team and ask all the questions you have always wanted to ask about our cars. Of course you will not leave our factory empty-handed; when you say goodbye you will receive a Donkervoort goodie bag.

The Donkervoort Factory Tour is available in English.

[Jeroen]

An unusual sight on our driveway!



Old neighbours from where we used to live were near. In fact they had to pick up his, Ron, RE from the dealer after a regular service.

The main (and oldest) RE dealer in the Netherlands is situated a bit south from us. http://www.vandoornmotoren.nl

So on the way home they stopped at our place for coffee and a chat. Ron on his RE and his wife Maud driving the car.

Ron has had this RE for about 18 months and has covered some 11.000km. He is very happy with it. He is one of the most experienced bikers I know. Some years ago he was working with the Ambulance service in the region of The Hague. Ron was instrumental in setting up a squad of fast response bikes. Any major accidents in busy areas, they would dispatch a bike with a trained emergency responder as they would be able to get to the scene of the accident before the ambulance. They were trained as paramedics and their bikes were equipped with all kinds of medical equipment to do triage and first aid response. Ron was part of the team doing these first response calls too. He has been a biker his whole life and as part of his job got very extensive bike training as well (similar to police advanced driving courses). In those day they drove mainly BMWs.

He is very happy with his RE. Uses it only for touring. Has not had a single problem with it yet! is this the new RE quality norm?

Jeroen

PS: At the entrance to my garage you can see my little Royal Enfield sign. All that I have I have left of driving a RE bullet are the sign and the memories. Good ones too.

[piyush350]

Hey Jeroen, have you ever had a fuel fail display on the dash. I occasionally get ff7 and I have not been able to resolve the issue. There is no difference in the way the car drives though. It's an XJS by the way.

Thanks
Piyush.

[Jeroen]

Originally Posted by piyush350

Hey Jeroen, have you ever had a fuel fail display on the dash. I occasionally get ff7 and I have not been able to resolve the issue. There is no difference in the way the car drives though. It's an XJS by the way.
.

Are you running an XJS in India? You are a brave man, these are very complicated and often finicky cars, especially the V12!

The FF7 code means there is something wrong with the idle control valve and or idle circuit. No signal or some error.

Does the engine idle normally? Or does it hunt a bit? Find the idle control valve and pull the connector with the engine running. Do the rpm change?

The most common problem with idle control valve tends to be they get a bit sticky. I am not sure on this one, but often you can take them apart and check/clean them. Do also check the seal (usually an O-ring, sometimes a gasket).

To clear the code, just disconnect the battery and wait some time and reconnect. You might actually want to try this first. Sometimes, especially on older cars, these sort of codes pop up spuriously. Reset them and they might stay away for a long time!

Good luck!

Jeroen

[piyush350]

Hi Jeroen
Thank you for your response. I am not that brave, it's a simple straight 6.
I will do the needful. The error comes up after riding 50 miles and above and the car drives normally. The only difference I see is the idle gets bit lumpy. In the past I have cleaned the MAF sensor and it improved the idling as well as overall efficiency.

I shall look into the idle control valve.

Thanks.

[Jeroen]

The W123 had not been driven for a while. So time for a bit of touring. We usually go out during the weekend to see or do something. Driving my classics is part of the fun. I usually plan a nice route along country and rural roads to get there.

We decided to go and see a Brocante market at Slot Zeist. Slot is a Dutch name for a sort of little castle/stately home. We have been here several times,, it is always interesting. Due to Corona the number of market stalls was about halved.

On our way relaxed touring along the dikes. Dutch cows and rivers in the background



We are having a bit of an Indian summer here in the Netherlands. Very nice weather. Which also means lots of classic cars out and about. We followed this Citroen CV2 for a while



Here what we call a “pontje”, or ferry. And another classic, MG . Had a little chat with the owner. Classic car owner always chat each other up!



Another view from the “pontje”. This is the river Lek, one of the main waterways in the Netherlands.



Here is Slot Zeist and the Brocante market.



We strolled around the various market stalls. Took about an hour and a half. We decided to have a quick lunch too. Here is what we Dutch call a “broodje kroket”. Broodje means roll. Kroket is a sort of diep fried rissole. Can’t explain it any better. We had kroket with french fries or friet as we call it, for as long as I can remember. Long before we had MacDonalds with its burgers. Kroket is as Dutch as tulips and windmills, just a little less well known.



After lunch we set off to go and visit our daugher and son and law, and more importantly our granddaughter Bella! We had pizza for dinner with them and drove home a little after 20.00. Already dark now. Took the motorway as there is really not much point driving on rural roads in the dark. The W123 cruises easily at 120-130 km/h. Takes a little while to get there, but once I hit 125 km/h I put the cruise control on and we float home!

Almost 40 years old and it still drives as new!

Jeroen

[Jeroen]

Today it looked as if the weather was going to be half decent in the morning and horrible and rainy in the afternoon. So I took the Spider out for a blast along some country roads. Nice four hours driving, with two coffee stops. This time of the year very few cyclist about, which means I tend to have these little country and rural roads all to myself.

I was back home for lunch. I was looking at some second hand car ads on my iPad as I was having my lunch. I have always been interested in the Range Rover Sport. I spotted a very nice one:

https://www.jaguarapproved.nl/jaguar...ercharged-svr/

This is top of the range for its days. The 5.0L Supercharged V8 SVR edition.

It had done only 95.000km, which I consider only barely run in. Remarkably, this car cost € 201.000,-- five years ago and is now for sale for less than 1/3. Talk about depreciation.

So I gave them a call and yes the car was available and yes they would get it ready for me. So I took my Jaguar and headed north. It is only about 30 minutes drive. When I arrived they had just finished washing it and were still drying it.

Took it out for a 45 minuted test drive.



I like the particular colour a lot. I just hate all these black, white and grey cars. This really makes it stand out from the crowd. So does the size of this thing. Took it on some country roads and on the motorway.

It is seriously fast too! I gave it the beans a couple of times and it is at least as fast as my V8 4.L supercharged Jaguar. Very comfortable ride too.

But I am not convinced. The car pulled to the right a bit, the engine made a peculiar ticking noise when idling, By the looks the disc, front and rear, need replacing. More importantly, I really did not like the seats. Sure enough they can be adjusted in 28 different ways. But the head rest is fixed and is pressing in the nape of my neck.

Also, I felt the interior was a bit of a let-down. For a 5 year old car, I would have expected something much more classy. The materials felt/showed too plastic, some of the buttons were sticky. The navigation is from the steam age. It would be quicker and more accurate to use my sextant.

So I doubt I will be going for this one. I must admit, whilst driving the Range Rover I kept thinking about my 1998 Jeep Cherokee I had whilst we lived in the USA. In many ways the Range Rover is much better and modern, more powerful, more better on just about any front. But the Jeep Cherokee always put a smile on my face. The Range Rover did not. Maybe it is just this particular one. Need to try out a few more.

Rather than taking the quick way home, I decided to take the Jaguar cross country on some nice little country roads. A few kilometers from home, I found myself coming across some 25 - 35 Classic Fords. And we are talking Classic Ford with capital C here: this is the real McCoy. Some A and T types and, V8s a few others thrown in as well. So I turned around and followed them.



I know these Ford A and T owners. They never drive more than 45 minutes. So I figured they would be stopping soon.



Sure enough. They happened to stop at a place I know well. It has featured in this very thread a few years ago, for one of my other classic tours. The Family Boer keeps all its trucks and trains here! https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/beyon...therlands.html (Vintage & Classic Cars touring around our village in the Netherlands!)





















In all honesty, I like looking at these very old classic cars. This is automotive history in its purist form. This is how it all started. I don’t know much about these sort of cars I must admit. But they are nice to look at, some magnificent details.

There are some 600-700 road worthy A Fords in the Netherlands alone! Most of these owners will trailer their classic Fords to and from events. It’s one thing touring on little country roads, but these cars are simply not suitable for any long distance cruising. It would be lethal to take them on the motorways and they simply can’t keep up with modern traffic.

They are, as classic cars, go not particular expensive either. They are rare, just not much sought after.

Enjoy

Jeroen

[Thad E Ginathom]

What a very nice day out! Thanks for all the pics